BURSTS OF SILENCE!

Short bursts of silence allow you to be present to what matters in your life.

The host of a business meeting invited the participants to honor a two minute silence of mindfully being present to their own breathing. I was unprepared for the request and surprised by an executive who said afterwards, “I’m always on the go, multitasking; my mind races. I forget to be still and allow the silence to reconnect me to what matters.”

The choice to be present to the stillness is a choice about how to navigate each day.

As I listened to the reaction of that executive I realized that my own practice of short bursts of silence is all too easily upended by the insistent din of the supposedly urgent.

I once thought that two minutes bursts of silence were not enough to remind me of the grounding of my life. But I’ve learned that their gift is immeasurable. My day is rejuvenated and refocused by them. What will I chose when the urgent detracts me from what is important?